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Moonrise c04s01
Text Celestia paced slowly back and forth across the carpet, her eyes cold, the flames in the fireplace behind her seeming to burn hotter in response to her anger as she stormed around the wide den. The carpet beneath was plush and comfortable, the walls were lined with beautiful paintings, there were soft and comfortable pillows and furnishings… and yet the gorgeous living area that would be inviting any other time felt like a prison cell, the walls seeming to loom in, suffocating the smaller pony despite the ceiling that seemed countless feet above. Luna stood with her head bowed shamefully, her eyes on the floor, only waiting for her big sister to either calm down or finally snap as Celestia's mane flowed around her, the ephemeral rainbow seeming to sizzle with her emotions. Her eyes blazed, her hooves left dents along the floor, her body flexed with her movements… and finally, Celestia came to a halt in front of her little sister, the smaller, deep-blue pony wincing away and flinching despite herself as the larger pony asked sharply: "What happened?" "I was… merely sparring a little with Twilight. I thought to teach her a little about the lost art of horn foiling, and-" Luna began, and Celestia stomped forwards, glaring down at her and making Luna wilt back at the fury in her eyes. "Horn foiling? Luna, what were you thinking? Only half a dozen unicorns across Equestria remember that ancient art, us included, and that is how it should remain!" Celestia snapped, glaring challengingly down at her little sister. "That is a relic of the past, and it should stay in the past… unicorns do not need to know any longer how to fight with horn and hoof alone, any more than they need to know the old magic! We are a peaceful, prosperous kingdom!" "Sister, Twilight Sparkle and her friends are linked to the Elements of Harmony, 'tis my belief that would only do good to teach them methods of self-defense… their very link with the Elements of Harmony makes them targets to forces nefarious and vile, and-" Luna began, and then she winced away when Celestia stomped a hoof down and the flames in the fireplace leapt up for a moment. "Sister, enough!" Celestia shouted, leaning down and snarling, and Luna winced back even as she felt her own anger beginning to boil inside of her. "The Elements of Harmony are more than enough to protect Twilight Sparkle as it is. She does not need your help. She does not need to learn to fight. She is not a warrior and neither are you any longer. We are Princesses of a peaceful kingdom now, and we shall remain that way, do you understand me?" Luna rose up, gritting her teeth, her own eyes glowing as she shot back: "Thou cannot decide what I am, Celestia! Thou cannot and thou shall not! Nor can thou decide what the entire nation must and shall be, 'tis foolishness… thou art but the guide and figurehead of Equestria, not its dictator!" Celestia turned away with a snort of derision, looking into the flames and breathing hard… and then she closed her eyes and visibly slumped forwards as Luna's breaths made her entire body shake, her eyes glowing with her fury before Celestia said quietly: "Luna, a thousand years have passed. We've found harmony and peace, even with the enemies Equestria still has. But nothing has appeared that warrants warmongering, and once the artifacts from the vaults are back in my possession, the ponies of Equestria will be protected from even the mightiest of foes, from even the forces that are older and crueler than us. "Little sister, my goal isn't to rule over these ponies. My goal is only to protect them." Celestia turned around, shaking her head slowly and meeting Luna's glare. "We have moved on from the days of fighting and warring, of dragon-slaying and grand adventures. The ponies are content to live their lives in peace and prosperity, unthreatened by the world around them: they live in safe pockets and safe places, protected from the dying breeds of monster and mayhem that are no longer common in this world. Tyrant Wyrms have been forced out of Equestria, and we have uneasy peace with the dragons… the beasts that are left roaming the dark pockets in our country are at most animals, except in the deepest shadows where no pony has any reason to tread. Just because our ponies prefer to rest on their laurels in peace does not make them weak." "Celestia, thou art not eternal… and if thee protects yon ponies from every problem now, what will happen come the future, when true crisis looms or thou art simply gone? Then what shall they do? How shall they protect themselves? Even thy soldiers art sloppy and crude." Luna said distastefully, shaking her head fiercely. "What does thou fear, that they will wage war against one-another should they learn to pick up sticks and fight, or that no longer will thou be needed?" Celestia's eyes blazed at this, and then she stepped forwards with a snarl, and Luna was crushed down into the ground with a gasp as the female's horn glowed bright gold, the entire room seeming to shudder as Luna's legs trembled and buckled, wincing at the massive surge of telekinetic force before Celestia narrowed her eyes, leaning back and standing tall as she looked down coldly at her sister, saying quietly: "Is that the show of power you wanted, Luna? Proof that I'm still your big sister, and still as strong as ever?" Luna only grimaced a bit, slowly picking herself up, flushed and humiliated and furious and a little scared all at once… but Celestia only shook her head, sighing quietly and murmuring: "There are other methods of defense apart from teaching ponies to kick, gouge, and bite, little sister. Twilight Sparkle and her friends, for example: in time, as they harness the Elements of Harmony together, I have no doubt they'll become great heroes. That Twilight herself may one day rule in my stead, should the day come where I must finally abdicate my throne or leave to join the Horses of Heaven. The magic of friendship is fascinating, Luna, it makes every pony joined together by it strong, links them in a chain that cannot be broken by physical force, perhaps not even physical death. It may be stronger than the old magic, which only permits us to hurt one another, and often uselessly." The smaller pony was silent as she shook her head, starry mane curling quietly around her as she stayed resting back on her haunches, faint pain still pulsing through her system as Celestia gazed down at her with her amethyst eyes, saying softly: "Little sister, tonight you lashed out again in anger. I need you to stay in control of yourself, one way or another. If this means I must assign guards to watch your every movement, I will, but I hesitate to do that. Just as I do not wish to quarantine you… but for now, I wish for you to remain… quiet." "Art thou sending me to my room, Mother Celestia?" Luna asked ironically, and then she flinched back when Celestia glared angrily at her, even as she fought to look up and meet her sister's gaze with as much bravery as she could muster. For a few moments there was silence… and then Celestia finally shook her head and said quietly: "I recognize you seem to think that Scrivener Blooms is enough to help you each night, but I will be assigning new servants to you. I will also request that you stay in your quarters as much as possible until the excitement over what has occurred dies down." Luna looked disgustedly down at the ground and shook her head, and then Celestia sighed and gestured towards the door, saying quietly: "There is no point in discussing this further, little sister. Please return to your quarters." The Princess of the Night looked up angrily, her eyes faintly glowing for a moment, but Celestia only looked icily back, and Luna knew it would do no good to argue. So instead, she finally closed her eyes and nodded, turning away silently and shoving the door open with a tilt of her head towards it, storming out into the hall beyond. She made her way through the castle, past the few servants still awake and guards that gave her a wide berth and dark scowls. Word of what she had done had likely spread throughout Canterlot quickly despite the late hour… and she gritted her teeth, grinding them together as she stormed her way towards her quarters, ignoring everyone she came across. Scrivener Blooms was in her room, the pony glancing up from a stack of books at her desk as Luna muttered under her breath, slamming the door behind her with a flick her mane before she turned around and lowered her horn, a blue aura glowing brightly over it as a circle of runes inscribed itself rapidly over the wood, carving a silence spell in blue flames before Luna whirled back around, taking a slow breath as her eyes closed… and then she threw her head back with a howl of outrage as she stomped her hooves against the ground, before kicking wildly back at the air, lunging furiously back and forth as she swept her horn around in devastating arcs as shocks ran through her starry mane and energy bruised the air around her. Scrivy only sat back, watching as Luna stormed back and forth until she finally tired herself out, dropping back and slumping as her lower lip trembled, staring at the ground… and the equine walked over to her, gently embracing the pony. She closed her eyes, resting her body against him and hugging him fiercely in return as she half-curled around him, muttering: "Words are terrible things, Scrivener Blooms. My horn can let me gouge and cut and bleed mine enemy, but words can lash further than any spell, and cut deeper than any knife without ere spilling a drop of blood. Truly, poet, it is not myself but thee who has the most dangerous gift of all." She paused, then added grouchily: "I pray thee to use it on mine sister Celestia." "It'll be okay, Luna. It will." Scrivy simply squeezed her gently, and the female sighed and slouched a bit, looking moodily at the ground. "Did things really go that badly?" "I… I know not." Luna said honestly after a moment, glancing awkwardly down. "On one hoof, Celestia continues to… act almost more as master over me than sister. On the other, I understand mine own reaction to the guards' folly was not… the most mature approach. Inside me boils great anger and frustration that I cannot vent except for in childish tantrums… I am not permitted to perform feats of magic, and now I am not permitted to share my other skills with those I would gladly entrust with them. And I fear that in present and future, Celestia will watch me closely in her scrying glass or through the eyes of guard and servant… and I know this shall only further incite and agitate mine aggravations." Scrivener nodded a little, but he didn't know what to say as they rested together, moving to sit side-by-side, pressing flank-to-flank… and then she sighed a little, saying quietly: "I fear that I have ruined all, Scrivener Blooms. After months of work, again the guards will like-as-not look at me as if I were a monarchal prisoner, a bat to keep inside her gilded cage… and the servants and nobles and all others will see only Nightmare Moon. I am only glad that Twilight Sparkle was not injured in the quarrel." "Twilight and her friends are not afraid of you, Luna… they offered words of encouragement and support after Celestia dragged you off. You still have tomorrow night to try and enjoy with them… and we can spend it outside of the castle, perhaps in the Garden of the Moon, how about that? Even Celestia won't be able to find a problem with you spending the time there with them." Scrivener said quietly, nudging her lightly… and Luna smiled a little before she nudged him gently back. "Anyway, much as I hate to say it… it was a very impressive display." "I… enjoyed myself. I should not have, yet I did, and I know 'twas clear to all others there that I did as well." Luna said quietly, closing her eyes and lowering her head forwards. "'Twas a reminder of olden times long since past… the grand tournaments, the jousts, the duels, the battles. Beneath our feet, stone and sallow dirt, above our heads, the limitless sky, all around us walls of stone and gates of steel and the excited onlookers…" Luna smiled a little, dropping into reverie as she lowered her head forwards, starlit night-sky mane spilling over her face as she continued softly: "Celestia preferred to watch… Sleipnir and I preferred to participate. Testing our mettle against ponies tall and strong and stout and short, against young and old, foolhardy and wise. 'Twas wonderful… 'twas a way to find pleasure in the pain, an enjoyable practice for the terrors of the real field. But… but I apologize, Scrivy, I do not expect thou art fond of listening to me speak of bloodier times with such… fervor…" She shuddered a little, whether out of fear of the pleasure she took in the memories or out of fear of that darkness inside her, Scrivy didn't know… but instead he only shook his head slowly, saying quietly: "Not at all, Luna. You know that I'm always interested in learning more about you… and I think in a way I get what you're saying. I've come to get to know you fairly well, after all… and more importantly, to understand the way you tick." Luna laughed quietly at this, shaking her head a bit and saying softly: "My thanks to thee, Scrivener Blooms. I must admit… I've become very fond indeed of our chats, and have come to enjoy… speaking of myself, and things that in other company goes misunderstood, whether by fact of ignorance or purpose." "And I really do like your pretentious accent." Scrivy replied mildly, and Luna gave him a flat look for a moment before she rose a foreleg and punched him lightly with a hoof, making him wince back. "And even your not-very-nice attitude." "Thank you, Scrivener Blooms, thou art making me feel perfectly at ease with thy unmatched kindness." Luna said dryly, voice dripping sarcasm, and Scrivy shrugged and gave her an amused look, which just made her roll her eyes and grumble even as she relaxed a little. "I swear thou exists simply to test my patience." "Well, possibly. But would you have it any other way, Princess?" Scrivener asked with a slight smile, and Luna nodded after a moment, gazing at him with gentle fondness. "Besides, maybe I'll learn a thing or two from your experiences. About adventuring, I mean… with this whole journey into the Everfree Forest coming up, I should probably figure out some way I'll actually be of use to you." "You'll write poems and epic tales outlining our adventure. And carry things for me." Luna replied mildly, looking at him seriously, and Scrivener grumbled and dropped his head forwards with a mutter. "Come, now, Scrivener, thou art too hard on thyself. In all honesty… thy accompaniment on this journey is necessary for much more than labor and whimsy. I… wish not to tread upon this path alone." Luna glanced down with an awkward blush, and Scrivy smiled a little at her, looking touched before he nodded back and said quietly: "Then why don't you tell me a little about adventuring, Luna? Just so… I can get a feel for it." The Princess glanced up at him for a moment… and then she nodded slowly, smiling softly as their eyes met, her deep, serious eyes seeming to glimmer for a moment as she murmured: "It would be my fondest delight." Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story